April 1, 2009 - Today Kentucky's cigarette tax doubles from 30 cents to 60 cents per pack. Just four years ago, Kentucky's tobacco tax was only three cents - the lowest in the nation. In addition, the federal tax on cigarettes today rises from 62-cents per pack to $1.01.

Kentucky is the nation's largest producer of burley tobacco and dark fire- and air-cured tobaccos. Only North Carolina surpasses Kentucky in tobacco production. Kentucky is the most tobacco-dependent state in the United States. Although North Carolina grows more tobacco than Kentucky, tobacco accounts for a larger percentage of Kentucky's agricultural income. (Overview of Kentucky's Tobacco Economy by Will Snell and Stephan Goetz, AEC-83)